Memory chip for high capacity memory subsystem supporting multiple speed bus

ABSTRACT

A memory module contains an interface for receiving memory access commands from an external source, in which a first portion of the interface receives memory access data at a first bus frequency and a second portion of the interface receives memory access data at a second different bus frequency. Preferably, the memory module contains a second interface for re-transmitting memory access data, also operating at dual frequency. The memory module is preferably used in a high-capacity memory subsystem organized in a tree configuration in which data accesses are interleaved. Preferably, the memory module has multiple-mode operation, one of which supports dual-speed buses for receiving and re-transmitting different parts of data access commands, and another of which supports conventional daisy-chaining.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is related to the following commonly assignedcopending U.S. patent applications, filed on the same date as thepresent application, all of which are herein incorporated by reference:

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/768,988, filed Jun. 27 2007,entitled “High Capacity Memory Subsystem Architecture EmployingHierarchical Tree Configuration of Memory Modules”;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/768,995, filed Jun. 27, 2007,entitled “High Capacity Memory Subsystem Architecture StoringInterleaved Data for Reduced Bus Speed”;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/768,998, filed Jun. 27 2007,entitled “High Capacity Memory Subsystem Architecture EmployingMultiple-Speed Bus”;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/769,001, filed Jun. 27, 2007,entitled “Memory Chip for High Capacity Memory Subsystem SupportingReplication of Command Data”;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/769,011, filed Jun. 27, 2007,entitled “Dual-Mode Memory Chip for High Capacity Memory Subsystem”;

U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/769,019, filed Jun. 27, 2007,entitled “Hub for Supporting High Capacity Memory Subsystem”.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to digital data processing hardware, andin particular to the design and operation of memory systems and memoryinterconnections in a digital data processing system.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the latter half of the twentieth century, there began a phenomenonknown as the information revolution. While the information revolution isa historical development broader in scope than any one event or machine,no single device has come to represent the information revolution morethan the digital electronic computer. The development of computersystems has surely been a revolution. Each year, computer systems growfaster, store more data, and provide more applications to their users.

A modern computer system typically comprises one or more centralprocessing units (CPUs) and supporting hardware necessary to store,retrieve and transfer information, such as communications buses andmemory. It also includes hardware necessary to communicate with theoutside world, such as input/output controllers or storage controllers,and devices attached thereto such as keyboards, monitors, tape drives,disk drives, communication lines coupled to a network, etc. The CPU isthe heart of the system. It executes the instructions which comprise acomputer program and directs the operation of the other systemcomponents.

From the standpoint of the computer's hardware, most systems operate infundamentally the same manner. Processors are capable of performing alimited set of very simple operations, such as arithmetic, logicalcomparisons, and movement of data from one location to another. But eachoperation is performed very quickly. Programs which direct a computer toperform massive numbers of these simple operations give the illusionthat the computer is doing something sophisticated. What is perceived bythe user as a new or improved capability of a computer system is madepossible by performing essentially the same set of very simpleoperations, but doing it much faster. Therefore continuing improvementsto computer systems require that these systems be made ever faster.

A computer's CPU operates on data stored in the computer's addressablemain memory. The memory stores both the instructions which execute inthe processor, and the data which is manipulated by those instructions.In operation, the processor is constantly accessing instructions andother data in memory, without which it is unable to perform useful work.The design of the memory subsystem and speed at which it operates arecritical issues in the overall performance of any computer system.

Memory is typically embodied in a set of integrated circuit modules. Thetime required to access memory is not only a function of the operationalspeed of the memory modules themselves, but of the speed of the pathbetween the processor and memory. As computers have grown more complex,this path has consumed a larger share of the access time. Earlycomputers had but a single processor and a relatively small memory,making the path between processor and memory relatively direct. Largemodern systems typically contain multiple processors, multiple levels ofcache, complex addressing mechanisms, and very large main memories tosupport the data requirements of the system. In these systems, it issimply not possible for direct paths to exist from every processor toevery memory module. Complex bus structures support the movement of dataamong various system components. Often, data must traverse severalstructures between the processor and the actual memory module. As thenumber of processors and size of memory grows, these issues become moreacute.

In order to obtain production economies of scale and reduce the cost ofcomputing, integrated circuit memory modules have become a commodityitem, having standardized external interfaces, memory capacities, andother parameters. Other computer system components which access memory,such as memory controllers, buses, repeaters, and so forth, are designedto work with these standardized memory chips. Standardization requiresthat certain aspects of the external interface design be fixed for aperiod of time, although there may be improvements to internal design.While a design is fixed, technological capabilities as well as productdemand in the computer industry will continue to evolve. At some point,this evolution of capabilities and expectations will justify a newgeneration of memory chips designed to standards more appropriate to thecurrent level of technology and the requirements of the industry.

Design of standardized memory modules can be optimized for any ofvarious computer architectures and uses. It is expected that futuredemand will be driven largely by high-volume, smaller, general purposecomputer systems, such as single-user desktops and laptops, andspecial-purpose devices, such as game systems, video systems, and soforth, referred to generally as low-end systems. So-called “mainframe”computer systems and other large systems will continue to bemanufactured, but they will account for a relatively small proportion oftotal memory chip demand. It is therefore reasonable to assume thatfuture memory module standards will be driven by the needs of thelow-end, high volume market, and will be optimized for use in thedevices typical of that market.

If design of future standardized memory modules is optimized for low-endsystems, these modules may be inefficient when used in larger systemshaving different design parameters. It would be possible to design aseparate set of memory modules for use in larger systems, but this wouldlose the economies of scale available in using high-volume, standardizedmemory modules, and substantially increase the cost of larger systems.

A need exists for improved memory subsystem design techniques which makeit possible to use standardized memory modules in a broad range ofsystems and at the same time meet the operating requirements ofdifferent types of systems without undue loss of efficiency.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A memory module contains an interface for receiving memory accesscommands from an external source (such as a memory controller or otheraccess module), in which a first portion of the interface receivesmemory access data at a first bus frequency and a second portion of theinterface receives memory access data at a second bus frequencydifferent from the first.

In the preferred embodiment, the memory module contains a secondinterface for re-transmitting memory access commands, the secondinterface also having first and second portions for re-transmittingmemory access data at the first and second frequencies.

In the preferred embodiment, the memory module is intended for use in ahigh-capacity memory subsystem, comprising a memory controller having atleast one memory chip bus operating at a full frequency and bus width,and which is coupled to a plurality of hub re-drive chips in a daisychained configuration, each hub re-drive communicating with the next hubre-drive in the chain at full frequency and bus width. Each hub re-drivesupports at least one respective cluster of buffered memory chipsstoring interleaved data, the cluster arranged in at least one tree.Data interleaving within the cluster allows a reduction of bus frequencyfor read and write data, the full bus frequency being used to transfercommand/address data. Command and write data is propagated down thetree, the number of chips increasing at each succeeding level of thetree. The memory chips are preferably designed for operation in adaisy-chained configuration in full bus width, full bus frequency mode(as might be typical of low-end systems) as well as for operation in atleast one separate mode having dual speed bus, for use in theinterleaved configuration of the preferred embodiment.

Preferably, the memory module has various architectural features and isused in a high-capacity interleaved tree configuration as describedherein and as claimed the various related applications cross-referencedabove. However, it should be understood that the present invention isnot necessarily limited to those implementations which employ thefeatures claimed in the related applications, and that it wouldalternatively be possible to construct a memory module consistent withthe present invention which does not use some or any of the featuresclaimed in the related applications.

By configuring memory chips which can be used for daisy chaining in aninterleaved tree configuration according to the preferred embodiment, alarger volume of memory can be configured to a limited number of busessupported by the memory controller without using custom memory chips.Additionally, the interleaved configuration has the potential to achievesignificant power savings by both reducing the frequency of busoperations of many (although not necessarily all) of the buses, and byreducing the number of I/O ports which are actually used.

The details of the present invention, both as to its structure andoperation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and inwhich:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING

FIG. 1 is a high-level block diagram of the major hardware components ofa computer system utilizing a memory subsystem having buffered memorychips, according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the major hardware components of a typicalmemory subsystem of a computer system in which the memory subsystem isconfigured using a daisy-chain configuration of buffered memory chips.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of certain major internal components of a bufferedmemory chip, according to the preferred embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a high-level block diagram of a memory subsystem configuredusing hubs and clusters, according to the preferred embodiment of thepresent invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing in greater detail the links between ahub and an associated cluster of memory chips, according to certainvariations of the preferred embodiment.

FIGS. 6-8 represent in greater detail various configuration of datapaths among memory chips of a sub-cluster and the associated hub,according to a first, second and third variation, respectively, of thepreferred embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing certain major internal components of ahub for supporting one or more clusters of memory chips, according tothe preferred embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Future Memory Chip Overview

Low-end systems typically require large memory bandwidth, i.e. theability to read and write a large amount of memory in a given time, butdo not necessarily require large memory capacities. In order to meetthese requirements, the present inventors envision a buffered memorychip and memory chip architecture supporting chains of memory chips.Such an architecture is described in the following commonly assignedcopending patent applications, each of which is herein incorporated byreference: U.S. application Ser. No. 11/459,956, filed Jul. 26, 2006,entitled “Daisy Chained Memory System”; U.S. application Ser. No.11/459,957, filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “Memory System Having SelfTimed Daisy Chained Memory Chips”; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/459,969,filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “Carrier Having Daisy Chained MemoryChips”; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/459,983, filed Jul. 26, 2006,entitled “Carrier Having Daisy Chain of Self Timed Memory Chips”; U.S.application Ser. No. 11/459,994, filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “DaisyChainable Memory Chip”; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/459,997, filed Jul.26, 2006, entitled “Daisy Chainable Self Timed Memory Chip”; U.S.application Ser. No. 11/459,974, filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “ComputerSystem Having Daisy Chained Memory Chips”; U.S. application Ser. No.11/459,968, filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “Computer System Having DaisyChained Self Timed Memory Chips”; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/459,966,filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “Memory Controller for Daisy ChainedMemory Chips”; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/459,961, filed Jul. 26,2006, entitled “Memory Controller for Daisy Chained Self Timed MemoryChips”; U.S. application Ser. No. 11/459,943, filed Jul. 26, 2006,entitled “Memory Chip Having an Apportionable Data Bus”; U.S.application Ser. No. 11/459,947, filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “SelfTimed Memory Chip Having an Apportionable Data Bus”; U.S. applicationSer. No. 11/459,955, filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “Computer SystemHaving an Apportionable Data Bus”; and U.S. application Ser. No.11/459,959, filed Jul. 26, 2006, entitled “Memory System Having anApportionable Data Bus and Daisy Chained Memory Chips”.

As described therein, a buffered memory chip is designed for use in adaisy chained configuration. The memory chip has dual sets ofhigh-frequency communications interfaces. These are intended forconnection to other memory chips or a memory controller via respectivepoint-to-point communications links (buses). One point-to-point linkconnects the chip with the next upstream device on the daisy chain,which could be another chip or could be the memory controller. The otherpoint-to-point link connects the chip with the next downstream memorychip, if there is one. Daisy-chaining of point-to-point links eliminatesthe need for conventional buffer chips between the memory controller andthe memory chips, assures that all links will be point-to-point, andtherefore facilitates bus operation at a higher frequency.

Although each link has multiple data lines, the links operate in aserial manner in the sense that multiple bus cycles are required totransmit a single command or data word. Buffers in each chip temporarilystore portions of data words and commands as these are transmitted overthe bus.

The daisy-chain design places no restriction on the internal memorytechnology used for storing data within the memory chips. It is expectedthat dynamic random access memory (DRAM) will be most generally used,although static RAM is also possible. Furthermore, any futureimprovements to memory storage technologies, or new technologiesaltogether, can generally be accommodated within the basic framework ofthe buffered memory chip configuration described herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring to the Drawing, wherein like numbers denote like partsthroughout the several views, FIG. 1 is a high-level representation ofthe major hardware components of a computer system 100 having a memorysubsystem utilizing buffered memory chips, according to the preferredembodiment. The major components of computer system 100 include one ormore central processing units (CPU) 101A-101D, main memory subsystem102, cache memory 106, terminal interface 111, storage interface 112,I/O device interface 113, and communications/network interfaces 114, allof which are coupled for inter-component communication via buses 103,104 and bus interface 105.

System 100 contains one or more general-purpose programmable centralprocessing units (CPUs) 101A-101D, herein generically referred to asfeature 101. In the preferred embodiment, system 100 contains multipleprocessors typical of a relatively large system; however, system 100could alternatively be a single CPU system. Each processor 101 executesinstruction stored in memory 102. Instructions and other data are loadedinto cache memory 106 from main memory 102 for processing. Main memory102 is a random-access semiconductor memory for storing data, includingprograms. Although main memory 102 and cache 106 are representedconceptually in FIG. 1 as single entities, it will be understood that infact these are more complex, and that cache may exist at multipledifferent levels, as is known in the art. In particular, main memorysubsystem 102 comprises multiple modules and communications components,as described more fully herein.

Buses 103-105 provide communication paths among the various systemcomponents. Processor/memory bus 103 (herein referred to as front-sidebus) provides a data communication path for transferring data among CPUs101 and caches 106, main memory 102 and I/O bus interface unit 105. I/Obus interface 105 is further coupled to system I/O bus 104 fortransferring data to and from various I/O units. I/O bus interface 105communicates with multiple I/O interface units 111-114, which are alsoknown as I/O processors (IOPs) or I/O adapters (IOAs), through systemI/O bus 104. System I/O bus may be, e.g., an industry standard PCI bus,or any other appropriate bus technology.

I/O interface units 111-114 support communication with a variety ofstorage and I/O devices. For example, terminal interface unit 111supports the attachment of one or more user terminals 121-124. Storageinterface unit 112 supports the attachment of one or more direct accessstorage devices (DASD) 125-127 (which are typically rotating magneticdisk drive storage devices, although they could alternatively be otherdevices, including arrays of disk drives configured to appear as asingle large storage device to a host). I/O and other device interface113 provides an interface to any of various other input/output devicesor devices of other types. Two such devices, printer 128 and fax machine129, are shown in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 1, it beingunderstood that many other such devices may exist, which may be ofdiffering types. Network interface 114 provides one or morecommunications paths from system 100 to other digital devices andcomputer systems; such paths may include, e.g., one or more networks 130such as the Internet, local area networks, or other networks, or mayinclude remote device communication lines, wireless connections, and soforth.

It should be understood that FIG. 1 is intended to depict therepresentative major components of system 100 at a high level, thatindividual components may have greater complexity than represented inFIG. 1, that components other than or in addition to those shown in FIG.1 may be present, and that the number, type and configuration of suchcomponents may vary. It will further be understood that not allcomponents shown in FIG. 1 may be present in a particular computersystem. Several particular examples of such additional complexity oradditional variations are disclosed herein, it being understood thatthese are by way of example only and are not necessarily the only suchvariations.

Although front-side bus 103 is shown in FIG. 1 as a relatively simple,single bus structure providing a direct communication path among cache106, main memory 102 and I/O bus interface 105, in fact front-side bus103 may comprise multiple different buses or communication paths, whichmay be arranged in any of various forms, such as point-to-point links inhierarchical, star or web configurations, multiple hierarchical buses,parallel and redundant paths, etc. Furthermore, while I/O bus interface105 and I/O bus 104 are shown as single respective units, system 100 mayin fact contain multiple I/O bus interface units 105 and/or multiple I/Obuses 104. While multiple I/O interface units are shown which separate asystem I/O bus 104 from various communications paths running to thevarious I/O devices, it would alternatively be possible to connect someor all of the I/O devices directly to one or more system I/O buses.

Main memory 102 is shown in FIG. 1 as a single monolithic entity, but itwill be understood that main memory may have a more complex structure.For example, main memory may be distributed and associated withdifferent CPUs or sets of CPUs, as is known in any of various so-callednon-uniform memory access (NUMA) computer architectures, or may bedivided into discrete subsets for access by separate buses whichcollectively comprise front-side bus 103, or may form some otherarchitecture. Similarly, although cache is shown as a single entity,there may be multiple hierarchical levels of caches, some of which maybe shared by all or some of CPUs 101A-101D, and some of which may bededicated for use of single respective CPUs. Furthermore, caches may bedivided by function, so that one cache holds instructions while anotherholds non-instruction data which is used by the processor or processors.As used herein, a “memory subsystem” is a memory or a cache or anyportion thereof. A memory subsystem may encompass all of main memory102, or a portion of main memory 102, or all or a portion of a cachememory 106. It is specifically preferred that a memory subsystem be allor a part of main memory 102, since cache generally requires fasteraccess, although the present invention is not limited to use in mainmemory and may be adaptable to some cache memory as well.

Computer system 100 depicted in FIG. 1 has multiple attached terminals121-124, such as might be typical of a multi-user “mainframe” computersystem. Typically, in such a case the actual number of attached devicesis greater than those shown in FIG. 1. Although it is anticipated that amemory subsystem configuration as described herein will be most suitablyadapted for use in relatively large multi-user systems, the presentinvention is not limited to systems of any particular size. Computersystem 100 may alternatively be a single-user system, typicallycontaining only a single user display and keyboard input, or might be aserver or similar device which has little or no direct user interface,but receives requests from other computer systems (clients).

While various system components have been described and shown at a highlevel, it should be understood that a typical computer system containsmany other components not shown, which are not essential to anunderstanding of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the major hardware components of a typicalmemory subsystem 102 of a computer system in which the memory subsystemis configured using a buffered memory chips in a daisy-chainedconfiguration. As explained previously, in the preferred embodiment,buffered memory chips designed for daisy-chained configuration are used.FIG. 2 is presented as background to explain the typical daisy-chainedconfiguration for which the memory chips are intended, although thisconfiguration is not actually used in the preferred embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, memory controller 201 is coupled to systemfront-side bus 103 for communication with one or more processors. Memorycontroller in turn supports one or (typically) multiple memory chipbuses configured as respective daisy-chained sets of buffered memorychips 202A-L (herein generically referred to as feature 202). Although asingle memory controller and attached memory chips are represented inFIG. 2, a main memory may contain multiple memory controllers, eachsupporting a respective set of attached memory chips.

Each daisy-chained set 203 of memory chips 202 comprises apoint-to-point link 204A running from memory controller to the firstbuffered memory chip in the chain, and successive point-to-point links204B-D running from each buffered memory chip in the chain to the nextbuffered memory chip in the chain, until the end of the chain is reached(point-to-point links being herein generically referred to as feature204). Memory controller 201 typically supports multiple point-to-pointmemory chip links 204, each capable of supporting a respectivedaisy-chained set of buffered memory chips. Although three daisy-chainedsets are illustrated in FIG. 2, the number may vary, and could be aslittle as one, but is typically larger.

Each point-to-point link 204 comprises an outbound data portion 205 andan inbound data portion 206. Outbound portion 205 is used fortransmitting data in an outbound direction, i.e., in a direction awayfrom memory controller 201. In the preferred embodiment, outboundportion includes a set of command/address lines and a separate set ofwrite data lines. The command/address lines transmit address and commanddata in an outbound direction to the chips. The write data linestransmit write data in an outbound direction, i.e. data coming frommemory controller 201 (which obtained it over front-side bus 103) whichis to be written to a memory address specified on the command/addresslines. Although in the preferred embodiment separate sets of dedicatedlines are used for command/address data and for write data, it wouldalternatively be possible to use a single shared set of lines whichtransmit both command/address and write data in a time-multiplexedfashion. Inbound data portion 206 transmits read data in an inbounddirection, i.e., data read from a memory address responsive to a readcommand previously sent on the command/address lines of outbound portion205.

In operation, memory controller 201 receives commands over front-sidebus 103, and determines the daisy chained set 203 to which the commandapplies, i.e., the set in which the applicable address is located. Inthe discussion herein, it is assumed for simplicity that commands areeither read commands or write commands to specific addresses, althoughsome architectures may support other types of commands. Controller 201then transmits each command and address on the command/address lines ofoutbound portion 205 of the first link 204 in the applicabledaisy-chained set (and, for a write command, transmits the applicablewrite data on the write data lines of outbound portion 205). This datais received by the first memory module 202, and as necessaryre-transmitted in a subsequent bus cycle to the next module in the daisychained set. Re-transmission continues until the command/address data(and optional write data) reaches the module 202 to which it isapplicable. At that point, the module writes data to the specifiedaddress, or reads data at the specified address. In the case of a read,the module transmits the read data toward the memory controller oninbound data portion 206. This read data is re-transmitted by everyintermediate module in the daisy-chained set in subsequent bus cycles,until it reaches memory controller 201, from which it is transmitted viafront-side bus 103 to the requesting entity.

In the preferred embodiment, each point-to-point link 204 is ahigh-speed wide serial link, i.e., it comprises multiple signal lines inparallel, but the number of lines is not sufficient to transmit a fullcommand/address or accessible unit of data (i.e., the amount of datatransferred in a single data access) in a single bus cycle. Multiple buscycles are required to transmit a single command/address (and optionalaccessible unit of write data) on outbound portion 205, or accessibleunit of read data on inbound portion 206. In the preferred embodiment,an accessible unit of data is 8 bytes. Outbound bus portion 205comprises five command/address data signal lines, and thirteen writedata signal lines. Inbound bus portion 206 comprises thirteen signallines for read data. Six bus cycles at 6 gigacycles/sec (6 GT/s) arerequired to transmit a single command/address (30 bits maximum), writedata (78 bits maximum, comprising 8 bytes of addressable data and up to14 auxiliary bits, and read data (78 bits maximum, comprising 8 bytes ofaddressable data and up to 14 auxiliary bits), so that the bus iscapable of transmitting commands at 1 giga-command/sec. The auxiliarybit positions can be used for error-correcting codes (ECC) or otherdata. In the preferred embodiment in which data is interleaved, asdescribed in greater detail herein, one or more pairs of auxiliary bitpositions can be used to support corresponding spare memory chips, whichcan be used to replace a malfunctioning memory chip. For illustrativepurposes, these parameters are used throughout the description herein.However, it will be understood that these parameters are merely onepossible representative set of design parameters, and that the number oflines, the number of serial bus cycles required for each command ordata, bus frequency, etc. could vary. It should further be understoodthat memory chips 202 may have apportionable bus width capability inwhich the width of the different bus portions is variably configurable,as described in the above referenced related patent applications.

As data moves outward or inward on the daisy-chained set 203, it isreceived in each successive module 202, buffered in the module, andre-transmitted from the module in a subsequent bus cycle. Thus, thelatency time of a memory access operation depends on the physicallocation of the corresponding memory module 202 within a daisy-chainedset, a module at the end of the chain taking more bus cycles to access.This fact places practical constraints on the length of thedaisy-chained set.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of certain major internal components of a bufferedmemory chip 202, according to the preferred embodiment. Buffered memorychip comprises a random access data storage array 301 for storing dataat a plurality of memory addresses, control logic for decoding receivedcommand information and controlling the operation of chip 202, phaselocked loop (PLL) clock circuit 303 for generating bus timing signals,and mode control register 304 for storing a mode of operation for chip202. Chip 202 further comprises various receive buffers 306 and 308 forreceiving data through respective I/O lines 311 and 312 coupled to anexternal source and drivers 305 and 309 for driving (transmitting) datathrough respective I/O lines 310 and 313 coupled to an external source.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention,chip 202 can operate in any of a plurality of different modes, andbehaves differently, responding to the same input in a different manner,depending on the mode of operation. Mode control register 304 stores oneor more bits identifying the mode of operation of chip 202. Typically,the mode of operation is not expected to change once chip 202 isconfigured in a computer system component, such as a printed circuitcard holding multiple memory chips. Mode control register 304 representsany entity which may be configured to store a mode value, whether or notit is re-writable after manufacture. In fact, for many technologies thevalue of the operating mode might be permanently written into the chipat the time it is assembled into a circuit card. The purpose of a modecontrol register is to allow a common chip design to be used in multipledifferent modes (and therefore multiple different memoryconfigurations), without requiring multiple separate chip designs.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment, the function of somereceiver or driver lines may vary depending on the mode of operation ofmemory chip 202, as determined by mode control register 304. In a basemode of operation, intended for use in the typical daisy-chainconfiguration of FIG. 2, inbound data drivers 305 are used for drivingdata inbound toward memory controller 201 on inbound data bus portion206; and outbound data drivers 309 are used for driving command/addressdata (and optional write data) outbound to the next chip 202 in thedaisy chain 203 on outbound data bus portion 205. Similarly, in the basemode of operation, inbound data receiver buffers 308 receive inbounddata from the next chip in the daisy chain on inbound data bus portion206; and outbound data receiver buffers 306 receive outboundcommand/address data (and optional write data) from a previous chip orthe memory controller on outbound data bus portion 205. Thus, in thebase mode I/O lines 310 and 312 correspond to outbound data bus portions205, and I/O lines 311 and 313 correspond to inbound data bus portions206, of respective daisy chain links 204. In certain alternate modes ofoperation, the data received by certain receivers and/or driven bycertain drivers may be other than that of the base mode of operation,and I/O lines 310-313 have different function, as described in greaterdetail herein.

PLL circuit 303 receives a bus clock signal from an external source andre-drives the signal to another external source, e.g., it receives thebus clock from a previous chip (or memory controller) in the daisy chainand re-drives it to a next chip in the chain. This signal is used toprovide timing for transmissions on the data and command/address busportions. In the preferred embodiments, chip 202 supports different busfrequencies, depending on the mode of operation, and in some variationsof the preferred embodiments herein chip 202 supports multiple busfrequencies simultaneously, i.e., different portions of the bus operateat different frequencies. PLL multiplies the incoming frequency asrequired to provide a bus clock signals of the highest requiredfrequency to control logic 302, which generates any required lowerfrequency bus clock signals by counting cycles at the higher frequency.

In general, control logic 302 interprets command/address data received,determines whether the data is intended for chip 202, or another chip,or both, accesses data storage array 301 in response to a commandintended for chip 202, returns read data to the memory controller, andre-drives data as required to another chip or chips. Control logic 302operates in multiple modes, depending on the setting of mode register304. The interpretation of incoming data will depend on the operatingmode. As explained above, in base mode command and address data isreceived at five dedicated I/O ports of outbound data receive buffer306; however, in certain alternative modes of operation, at least somecommand/address data is received at other ports or buffers.

Memory chips 202 are designed for use in the configuration of FIG. 2 fortypical low-end systems, i.e. single-user computers, portable digitaldevices, game controllers, so-called “set-top box” video controllers,and the like. If the same chips are adapted for use in large computersystems, the configuration of FIG. 2 has certain drawbacks. Largecomputer systems typically require much larger main memory capacity thanlow-end systems. It may be possible to some degree to increase memorycapacity by employing multiple memory controllers 201, but eachadditional memory controller imposes substantial burdens on the designof front-side bus 103. It is further possible to increase memorycapacity almost indefinitely by increasing the length of the daisychains. However, increasing the length increases the latency of access.For large capacity memory subsystems, latency becomes impracticallylarge. Additionally, long daisy chains are relatively inefficient usersof electrical power. Each module must buffer and re-transmit thetransmissions to and from the modules further down the chain, so thatsubstantial power is consumed just communicating data out to the chips.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention,these drawbacks are alleviated by arranging buffered memory chips 202 inchip clusters supported by daisy-chained hubs. FIG. 4 is a high-levelblock diagram of a memory subsystem configured using hubs and clusters,according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, memory controller 401 is coupled to front-side bus103 for communication with one or more processors. Memory controller 401in turn supports one or (typically) multiple memory chip busesconfigured as respective daisy-chained hubs 402A-D (herein genericallyreferred to as feature 402), each hub supporting at least one (andpreferably multiple) clusters of memory chips 403A-O (herein genericallyreferred to as feature 403). A main memory 102 may contain multiplememory controllers 401, each supporting a respective set of attachedhubs and chip clusters.

As in the case of the daisy-chained chips of FIG. 2, the hubs 402 of thepreferred embodiment are connected in chains 404 by point-to-point links405A-D (herein generically referred to as feature 405), running frommemory controller 401 to the first hub, and thereafter from each hub toa successor hub in the chain until the end of the chain is reached.Memory controller 401 typically supports multiple point-to-point hublinks 405, each capable of supporting a respective daisy-chained set 404of hubs and clusters. Although two daisy-chained hub sets areillustrated in FIG. 4, the number may vary, and is typically larger.

Each point-to-point link 405 comprises an outbound data portion 407 andan inbound data portion 408. Preferably, point-to-point links 405operate in essentially the same manner as point-to-point links 204running between daisy-chained buffered memory chips 202 in theconfiguration of FIG. 2. Specifically, in the preferred embodiment thebus frequency of bus link 405 is the same as that of bus link 204, andeach data access transaction (read or write) requires multiple (e.g. 6)cycles to transmit. Inbound data portion 408 is preferably the same buswidth (same number of lines) as inbound data portion 206 (e.g. 13 lineseach). Outbound data portion 407 also uses 13 lines for transmission ofoutbound write data, plus some number of lines for transmission ofcommand/address data. Outbound data portion 407 preferably supports asimilar address and command protocol to that of the outbound dataportion 205 of a link 204 in a daisy-chain 203 of memory chips, but mayrequire one or more additional address lines to accommodate a largerpotential address space, since one purpose of the arrangement of thepreferred embodiment is to support a larger number of chips (largermemory address range) on each memory chip bus port supported by thememory controller.

In operation, memory controller 401 receives commands over front-sidebus 103, and determines the daisy chained hub/cluster set 404 to whichthe command applies, i.e., the set in which the applicable address islocated. Controller 401 then transmits each command and address(together with write data, if the command is a write command) onoutbound data portion 407 to the first hub in the applicabledaisy-chained hub/cluster set, which receives it and retransmits it asnecessary in a subsequent bus cycle to the next hub, until the hubservicing the cluster 403 storing the applicable data address isreached. The hub then re-transmits the command/address (and write data,if applicable) to the memory modules of the applicable cluster 403, asdescribed in greater detail herein. When the command/address isre-transmitted to the cluster, the extra address bits needed to specifya hub and cluster are preferably removed to reduce the width of addressrequired. Data is preferably interleaved among multiple modules of acluster, as described more fully herein. The modules of the clusterwrite any write data to the specified address, or read data specified bya read command, returning the read data to the hub. The hub thentransmits the data up the chain toward the memory controller on inbounddata portion 408, each intermediate hub in the chain re-transmitting thedata in a respective subsequent bus cycle until it reaches memorycontroller 401, from which it is transmitted via front-side bus 103 tothe requesting entity.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the present invention, a“cluster” 403 of memory chips is a set of multiple memory chips storingdata, and configured so that all chips of the cluster are accessed ineach transaction to the cluster. In other words, data within the clusteris interleaved among all the chips of the cluster. Interleaving may beon a bit-wise basis, by multiple bits, by bytes or words, or on someother basis. In addition to interleaving data, in the preferredembodiment at least a portion of the communication links running to thechips operate at a bus frequency which is lower than that of the links405 of the hub chain 404. Despite the lower frequency, the use ofinterleaving allows the chips to transmit or receive data at a rateequivalent to the data rate of the hub chain 404. The use of hubs andclusters thus increases the number of chips supported on each bus chain404 attached to the memory controller (vis-a-vis a daisy-chain of chipsas shown in FIG. 2), and at the same time reduces the average powerconsumed by each chip by lowering bus frequency. A cluster 403 of memorychips may be implemented in any of various configurations. Severalrepresentative such configurations are described below, it beingunderstood that the exemplary configurations explained herein are notexhaustive.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing, in greater detail than therepresentation of FIG. 4, the links between a hub and an associatedcluster of memory chips, according to certain variations of thepreferred embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, a cluster 403 comprises 39chips 202, arranged in three sub-clusters 501A-C (herein referred togenerically as feature 501). Hub 402 is coupled to a separatesub-cluster communications link 502A-C (herein generically referred toas feature 502) for each sub-cluster 501. Each sub-clustercommunications link comprises a respective command/address/write dataportion 504 for transmitting command/address data (and optional writedata in the case of a write command to the chips of the sub-cluster, anda respective read data portion 505 for receiving data read from thechips of the cluster, to be re-transmitted to the memory controller.Preferably, command/address/write data portion includes separate sets oflines for command/address data and for write data, the number of linesrequired being dependent on the configuration, of which several examplesare discusses below; however, command/address data could alternativelybe time-multiplexed with write data to share a single set of lines. Forclarity only one cluster is shown attached to the hub in FIG. 5,although it will be understood that a hub can, and typically will,service multiple clusters.

Hub 402 is essentially a complex switch with the capability toaccumulate/sequence data between busses operating a differentfrequencies. FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing certain major internalcomponents of a hub, according to the preferred embodiment. Hub 402comprises a decoder/controller 901 for decoding received addresses andcontrolling the operation of the hub; phase locked loop (PLL) clockcircuit 902 for generating bus timing signals; inbound data buffer 903for buffering inbound data; receive buffers 905 and 906 and drivers 904and 907 for receiving and driving (transmitting) data on links 405 of ahub chain to which hub 402 belongs, and at least one cluster interface910 for interfacing with a cluster 403 of memory chips.

Hub 402 optionally contains a mode register 908 coupled todecoder/controller 901, which identifies a mode of operation. Hub 402can optionally be designed to support multiple different clusterconfigurations, several examples of which are disclosed below and inFIGS. 6-8, and/or can be designed to support other operational variants.For example, different configurations might require any of: a differentnumber of command/address lines and different bus frequency of at leastsome lines; a different number of sub-clusters within a cluster; adifferent granularity of data interleave, etc.

Cluster interface 910 comprises a write accumulator 911, read sequencer912, command/address line output driver 913, write data output driver914, and inbound read data receive buffer 915. Although only oneinterface 910 is represented in FIG. 9 for clarity of illustration, itwill be understood that a separate interface exists for each cluster 403supported by hub 402

Write accumulator 911 accumulates data to be transmitted to the clusterat a lower frequency from that at which it was received over bus 405from the memory controller. I.e., data received in multiple bus cyclesover bus 405 is accumulated in a wider register until it is ofsufficient width for transmitting at the lower speed, wider widthoutbound link(s) 504 to the cluster. Preferably, at least some data issent out at a lower bus speed. Specifically, in all of the exemplaryconfigurations disclosed herein, write data for writing to the chips istransmitted on link(s) 504 at a reduced bus speed. In one exemplaryconfiguration, address/command data is also transmitted at a lower busspeed. After passing through write accumulator to adjust the width asnecessary, received data intended for the cluster supported by clusterinterface 910 is transmitted out to the cluster on command/address lineoutput driver 913 (for command/address data), write data output driver914 (for write data).

Read sequencer 912 sequences wider width inbound read data received overlink(s) 505 into read buffer 915 for transmission to the memorycontroller in multiple cycles on narrower width inbound portion 408 oflink 405. The sequenced data is placed in inbound buffer 903 forre-transmission on inbound driver 904 toward the memory controller.

In operation, decoder/controller 901 decodes the address of a receivedcommand/address to determine whether the command is intended for acluster supported by hub 402. If so the incoming data is routed to thecorresponding cluster interface 910. If not, the incoming data is routedto outbound driver 907, passing it through hub 402 to the next hub indaisy-chain 404. (Some architectures may support broadcast commandswhich are both routed to a cluster interface and passed down the daisychain.)

PLL circuit 902 receives a bus clock signal from an external source andre-drives the signal to another external source, e.g., it receives thebus clock from a previous hub (or memory controller) in the daisy chainand re-drives it to a next hub in the chain. Optionally, each clusterinterface further includes a clock re-driver 916 for re-driving the busclock signal to one or more chips of the cluster, although a clock forthese chips might be generated by separate means. The clock signalderived from PLL 902 is also provided to decoder/controller 901 forcontrolling the internal operation of hub 402.

As explained earlier, in the exemplary embodiments, a memory accessoperation stores or reads 78 bits of data (including auxiliary bits).The data within a cluster 403 is interleaved among the 39 chips of thecluster, so that any memory access operation which addresses the chipsof a cluster is distributed among all 39 chips, i.e. each chip stores orreads exactly two bits of every memory access operation which accessesthe cluster. Because each chip within the cluster is required to receiveonly two bits of write data or transmit only two bits of read data ineach memory access operation, the lines which carry this data canoperate at a lower frequency than the lines of the communications links405 which make up the hub chain 404. For example, in the exemplaryembodiment, links 405 operate at a bus frequency of 6 GT/s, requiring 6bus cycles to complete a memory access operation. Since each chip in thecluster can receive or transmit two bits of data on a single line in twobus cycles, it can receive or transmit its respective portion of thememory access data in 2 bus cycles, and therefore can achieve sufficientdata rate at a bus frequency (on link 502) of 2 GT/s.

It will be observed that each chip 202 contains a total of 31 receiversfor receiving data on 31 I/O lines and 31 drivers for transmitting dataon 31 I/O lines. In the base operating mode, these operate as 13outbound data, 13 inbound data, and 5 command/address for each ofreceiver I/O and driver I/Os. The number of physical receiver and driverI/O lines supported is a significant limitation. Since each I/O line isa significant cost burden, it is unlikely that a generic chip will bedesigned with any more I/O than minimally necessary. Therefore, it isdesirable that any alternative configurations of a memory subsystem useno more I/O lines than the number required in the base (i.e.,daisy-chained) configuration of FIG. 2. However, it is relativelylow-cost to provide additional function in control logic 302 which willuse different I/O lines differently, depending on the operating mode,and it is therefore acceptable to configure the memory subsystem inalternative configurations which assign different roles to some of theI/O lines.

FIGS. 6-8 represent in greater detail various alternative configurationsof data paths among memory chips of a sub-cluster and the associatedhub, according to certain variations of the preferred embodiment. In thevariations of FIGS. 6-8, each cluster 403 contains three sub-clusters501, each sub-cluster containing 13 memory chips, as represented in FIG.5 and described above. All three sub-clusters 501 of a single cluster403 are serviced by the same hub 402, although the other sub-clustersare omitted from FIGS. 6-8 for clarity of illustration.

Referring to FIG. 6, which represents a first variation of a sub-clusterconfiguration 501, an outbound link 601 runs from hub 402 to memory chip202A, outbound link 601 comprising 13 data lines and 5 command lines fortransmitting write data and command/address data, respectively, tomemory chip 202A. The 13 data lines operate at a bus frequency of 2GT/s, i.e. ⅓ that of the communication links 405 of the hub chain. The 5command/address lines operate at a bus frequency of 6 GT/s.

Memory chip 202A in turn drives three separate outbound links 602, 603,604 to memory chips 202B, 202C and 202D, respectively. Each outboundlink 602, 603, 604 from memory chip 202A comprises 4 data linesoperating at a bus frequency of 2 GT/s, and 5 command/address linesoperating at a bus frequency of 6 GT/s.

Each of memory chips 202B, 202C and 202D in turn drives three separateoutbound links to a respective group of three additional memory chips.For example, memory chip 202B drives three separate outbound links 605,606, 607 to memory chips 202E, 202F and 202G, respectively. Eachoutbound link 605, 606 and 607 comprises 1 data line operating at a busfrequency of 2 GT/s, and 5 command address lines operating at a busfrequency of 6 GT/s.

Each memory chip 202A-202M drives a single inbound data line operatingat 2 GT/s to hub 402. E.g., memory chip 202E drives inbound data line608.

Thus, it will be seen that the sub-cluster is configured as a tree ofmemory chips with chip 202A at its root, and in which command/addressdata and write data is propagated down the tree. However, a directconnection exists for transmitting read data from each chip to the hub,i.e. it is not necessary to propagate read data up the tree.

Although data is transferred on hub bus links 405 at 6 GT/s, the clusterconfigured as shown in FIG. 6 is able to keep up with the transfer ratebecause data is interleaved among the three sub-clusters. I.e., for eachbus operation transferring 78 bits of addressable data and auxiliarybits, 26 bits are stored in each of the three sub-clusters, and eachmemory chip stores exactly two bits. Each chip requires only two busbeats to transfer the two bits (on the single inbound bit line 608),whereas the hub requires six bus beats to transfer its 78 bits of dataup the hub chain 404 to memory controller 401. Therefore the individualchips of the cluster are able to keep up with the hub's data rate bytransferring data to the hub at 2 GT/s. The same is true of outboundwrite data from the hub to the chips.

However, in the case of outbound command/address data, it is necessaryto replicate the command/address data to all chips of the cluster, andtherefore interleaving does not reduce the amount of command/addressdata to each chip. In the exemplary configuration of FIG. 6, thisproblem is resolved by operating the command/data portion of theoutbound links at 6 GT/s, the same bus frequency as hub chain links 405.I.e., in this embodiment, some lines of the bus operate at a higherfrequency than others. Per chip power reduction vis-a-vis a daisychained configuration as shown in FIG. 2 is accomplished by virtue ofthe fact that some of the lines operate at lowered frequency (whereas inthe daisy chained configuration, all lines operate at 6 GT/s), and byvirtue of the fact that some chips use fewer than all of the lines.

In operation, hub 402 receives successive portions of command/addressdata (and optionally write data) from the chain 404 in successive buscycles. Preferably, address data identifying the cluster is included inthe first bus cycle or cycles to reduce latency. If sufficientinformation is received to determine the destination cluster, hub 402determines, with respect to each cluster attached to the hub, whetherthe command is addressed to the cluster. If not, the command is ignoredby the hub, but is forwarded down the chain 404. If so, the command isre-transmitted to each of the three memory chips 202A at the root of thetree in the respective sub-clusters of the cluster to which the commandis addressed on the five command/address lines of link 601 for eachcluster, i.e., at 6 GT/s. If the command is a write command, the hubwill also receive write data on its 13 outbound data input lines fromthe memory controller. This write data is re-transmitted in aninterleaved fashion to the three sub-clusters, the root memory chip 202Aof each sub-cluster receiving write data at 2 GT/s on the 13-line dataportion of link 601.

Memory chip 202A then re-transmits three separate copies of thecommand/address data on three separate 5-line 6 GT/s portions of links602, 603 and 604, respectively, to chips 202B, 202C and 202D,respectively. However, if the command is a write command, it is notnecessary for chip 202A to retransmit all the write data. The 13-bitportion of link 601 carries one bit for each of memory chips 202A-202M.Therefore, it is only necessary to re-transmit four data bits to memorychip 202B on link 602 (at 2 GTS), four bits to memory chip 202C on link603 (at 2 GT/s), and four bits to memory chip 202D on link 604 (at 2GT/s). The 13^(th) bit is for memory chip 202A itself, and is notre-transmitted.

Each of memory chips 202A, 202B and 202C then re-transmits three morecopies of the 5-bit command/address data at 6 GT/s to a respective groupof three chips. I.e., Chip 202B re-transmits data to chips 202E-202G,and so on, as shown in FIG. 6. On this re-transmission, it is onlynecessary to transmit a single bit of write data at 2 GT/s to each chip(in addition to the five bits of command/address data).

If the command is a read command, each chip transmits the correspondingread data from the chip on a respective 1-bit line 608 directly to hub402 at 2 GT/s. Each chip stores only two bits of the 78 bits of readdata per bus operation, and therefore by operating at 2 GT/s, each chipis able to transmit the required data within the time for completing thebus operation. Because the command/address data is propagated to thechips in a tree configuration, the chips do not all receive it at thesame time. Preferably, hub 402 is designed to buffer incoming data fromthe various chips to account for this delay. Alternatively, a one or twodelay could be introduced in those chips receiving the command earlierbefore transmitting the read data to hub 402, so that hub 402 receivesall data at the same time.

It is contemplated that memory chips 202 will be designed aroundrequirements of low-end systems, and designed to be configured in thedaisy-chained configuration of FIG. 2 as their base mode of operation(although this is not necessarily a requirement of the presentinvention). In order to be able to use the same generic chip 202 whichis intended for use in low end, daisy-chained configurations, it ishighly desirable that any alternative configurations as disclosed hereinrequire as little additional chip circuitry as possible, and inparticular, it is highly desirable that the chip in any alternativeconfiguration require no more I/O pins than used in the standarddaisy-chained configuration. Each additional I/O pin adds significantexpense to the design and manufacture of the chip, and it is unlikelythat chip designers will add additional pins to support alternativeconfigurations which are used only in a small proportion of installedenvironments. As explained above, chip 202 of the exemplary embodimenthas 62 I/O pins, comprising 18 pins for receiving outbound data comingfrom the controller (13 data and 5 command/address), 18 pins forre-driving the outbound data to the next chip in the daisy chain (13data and 5 address/command), 13 pins for receiving inbound data comingfrom the next chip in the daisy chain, and 13 pins for re-driving theinbound data toward the controller. Of the 62 I/O pins, 31 are driversfor transmitting on an external line, and 31 are receiver for receivingfrom an external line. It will be understood that these are provided asexemplary design parameters, and that a memory chip for use inaccordance with the present invention could have a different number ofI/O pins.

In all of the configurations disclosed herein, the number oftransmitting and receiving pins used in each chip of the configurationis limited to 31 and 31, respectively, although the function of the pins(i.e., the type of data being driven or received on the pin) is notnecessarily the same as in the daisy chained configuration. A moderegister 304 which records an operating mode, and a small amount ofadditional internal chip logic 302 responsive to the operating mode heldin the mode register, is required to decode the input lines or transmitto output lines accordingly. This internal chip logic is far lessexpensive than additional I/O pins, and therefore is practical tosupport in a generic chip design even if a relatively small proportionof installed chips actually use it.

Appropriate assignment of function to the various pins can minimize theinternal logic needed to support an alternative configuration. The tablebelow shows an exemplary assignment of pin function to the 31 receiverpins (R1 through R31) for receiving data and 31 driver pins (T1 throughT31) for transmitting data in the base mode of operation (intended foruse in the daisy chained configuration of FIG. 2), and in thealternative configuration mode of FIG. 6. In the alternate mode, readdata 1 and write data 1 refer to the bit which is stored in the chip,while write data 2:13 is data stored in interleaved fashion on otherchips of the same sub-cluster (which must therefore be propagated to theother chips). As will be observed, most pins either have the samefunction in alternative mode or are not used in alternative mode (andhence no special logic required). In alternative mode, internal logicuses only data bit 1 (read or write) for the chip, and data bits 2:13are treated as pass-through data intended for another chip. Only pinsT20:T29 have a different function, being used to drive additional copiesof the command data in the alternative mode. Additionally, the controllogic 302 responsive to the operating mode will operate the data pins inalternative mode at a different clock rate, i.e., pins R6:R18 and T7:T19are operated at ⅓ bus clock rate (e.g., 2 GT/s, as opposed to 6 GT/s).Power savings result from the lowered clock rate, as well as the factthat some pins are not used in alternative modes.

TABLE 1 Pin Assignments for Base and Alternate mode (FIG. 6) Base ModeAlt Mode (FIG. 6) R1:R5 Cmd 1:5 Cmd 1:5 R6 Outbound Wrt Data 1 OutboudWrt Data 1 (chip), ⅓ clock R7:R18 Outbound Wrt Data 2:13 Outbound WrtData 2:13, ⅓ clock R19:R31 Inbound Read Data 1:13 Not Used T1:5 Cmd 1:5Cmd 1:5 T6 Outbound Wrt Data 1 Not Used T7:T18 Outbound Wrt Data 2:13Outbound Wrt Data 2:13, ⅓ clock T19 Inbound Read Data 1 Inbound ReadData 1 (Chip), ⅓ clock T20:24 Inbound Read Data 2:6 Cmd 1:5 (Copy B)T25:29 Inbound Read Data 7:11 Cmd 1:5 (Copy C) T30:31 Inbound Read Data12:13 Not Used

The single set of alternative mode pin assignments from the table abovecan be used for all chips of the alternative configuration of FIG. 6,although only chip 202A actually uses all the pin assignments listed.The other chips will use fewer pins. For example, chip 202B will receiveonly 4 bits of write data, so it needs only R6:R9 for receiving outboundwrite data, leaving pins R10:R18 unused. Similarly, it transmits only 3bits of write data to other chips, so it needs only T7:T9 fortransmitting outbound write data, leaving T10:T18 unused.

It will be understood that the pin assignments of the table above aremerely one possible assignment set, and that other assignments could beused. Similar assignments could be made for the various otherconfigurations described herein, as long as the total number ofreceiving and transmitting pins does not exceed what is available.

FIG. 7 represents a second variation of a sub-cluster configuration 501.The configuration of FIG. 7 is similar to that of FIG. 6, and operatesin a similar manner, except that the read data from memory chips202A-202H and 202J-202M is transmitted to chip 202I, rather thandirectly to hub 402. Chip 202I in turn transmits this read data, alongwith its own read data, to hub 402.

Referring to FIG. 7, an outbound link 701 runs from hub 402 to memorychip 202A, outbound link 701 comprising 13 data lines and 5 commandlines for transmitting write data and command/address data,respectively, to memory chip 202A. The 13 data lines operate at a busfrequency of 2 GT/s, while the 5 command/address lines operate at a busfrequency of 6 GT/s.

Memory chip 202A in turn drives three separate outbound links 702, 703,704 to memory chips 202B, 202C and 202D, respectively. Each outboundlink 702, 703, 704 from memory chip 202A comprises 4 data linesoperating at a bus frequency of 2 GT/s, and 5 command/address linesoperating at a bus frequency of 6 GT/s. Each of memory chips 202B, 202Cand 202D in turn drives three separate outbound links to a respectivegroup of three additional memory chips, each such link comprising 1 dataline at 2 GT/s and 5 command/address lines at 6 GT/s, as in theconfiguration of FIG. 6.

Each memory chip 202A-H and 202J-202M drives a single inbound data lineoperating at 2 GT/s to memory chip 202I. E.g., memory chip 202E drivesinbound data line 708. Memory chip 202I receives this data, and forwardsit on inbound link 707 to hub 402, along with its own data. Inbound link707 is a 13-line link operating at 2 GT/s, and contains the data fromeach of chips 202A-202M

Although the configuration of FIG. 7 necessarily requires an extra cycleof latency to read data when compared with that of FIG. 6, it hascertain potential advantages. All read lines going to hub 402 come froma single chip, i.e. chip 202I, which may simplify timing or physicallayout issues. Another advantage of the configuration of FIG. 7 is thatsufficient ports exist to provide a redundant inbound line from each ofmemory chips 202A-202H and 202J-202M. These redundant inbound lines areshown as dashed lines 709, 711 in FIG. 7. In the event of failure of anyof the primary inbound ports or lines, the redundant line can assume thefunction of the original. Memory chip 202I therefore has 12 receiverpins assigned to the primary inbound lines 708 and 12 receiver pinsassigned to the redundant inbound lines 709, 711. Since chip 202I onlyneeds 6 additional receiver pins for receiving 1 bit of write data and 5bits of command/address data from chip 202C on link 706, the total pinrequirement is 30 pins (leaving one unused). Where redundancy isdesired, link 707 preferably contains a single additional redundantline, which can be assigned as a back-up for any of the 13 inbound readlines from chip 202I to hub 402. Redundancy could be provided in theconfiguration of FIG. 6 as well, but it would require 13 extra receiveports in the hub, which significantly increases the cost.

If desired, redundancy can also be provided in the outbound links. I.e.,with one exception, sufficient unused ports exist to provide an extraredundant line for each of the outbound links 701-704, 706. This oneexception is chip 202A, which has 3 outbound links 702, 703, 704, eachhaving nine lines. If a 10^(th) redundant line is added to each of links702, 703, and 704, there are no unused lines left over, leaving the dataline 710 to chip 202I without redundancy. The solution to this problemis to share the redundant line for link 703. I.e., if line 710 fails,then the read data is transmitted on the redundant line of link 703 tochip 202C, and thence on redundant line 711 for chip 202I's data.Redundancy would involve additional complexity in the internal logic,but would not require additional I/O ports.

An exemplary pin assignment for the configuration of FIG. 7 employingredundancy as described above is represented in Table 2 below. It isassumed that the pin assignments for the base operating mode are thesame as those of Table 1 above. Lines R6:18, R20:31, and T7:19 operateat ⅓ clock speed; some other lines may operate at ⅓ clock speed as well,depending on configuration or use. I.e., a redundant line will operate,when used, at the clock speed of the line it is replacing.

TABLE 2 Pin Assignments for Second Alternate mode (FIG. 7) Chip 202AChip 202I All Other Chips R1:R5 Cmd 1:5 Cmd 1:5 Cmd 1:5 R6 Outbound Wrt1 Outbound Wrt 1 Outbound Wrt 1 R7:9 Outbound Wrt 2:4 Red'nt inboundread 2:4 Outbound Wrt 2:4 R10:18 Outbound Wrt 5:13 Red'nt inbound read5:13 Not Used R19 Redundant link 701 Red'nt link 706 Redundant cmd/datain R20:31 Not Used Inbound Read 2:13 Not Used T1:5 Cmd 1:5 (Copy A) NotUsed Cmd 1:5 (Copy A) T6 Redundant link A Not Used Redundant Link A T7:9Outbound Wrt 2:4 Not Used Outbound Wrt 2:4 T10:17 Outbound Wrt 5:12 NotUsed Not Used T18 Outbound Wrt 13 Red'nt inbound read 1:13 Redundantinbound read 1 T19 Inbound Read 1 Inbound Read 1 Inbound Read 1 T20:24Cmd 1:5 (Copy B) Inbound Read 2:6 Cmd 1:5 (Copy B) T25:29 Cmd 1:5 (CopyC) Inbound Read 7:11 Cmd 1:5 (Copy C) T30 Redundant link B/inboundInbound Read 12 Redundant link B read 1 T31 Redundant link C InboundRead 13 Redundant link C

FIG. 8 represents a third variation of a sub-cluster configuration 501.In the configuration of FIG. 8, all lines (i.e., command/address as wellas stored data) operate at the same clock frequency, specifically at the⅓ clock frequency of 2 GT/s. In order to transmit all thecommand/address data using lower frequency lines, the configuration ofFIG. 8 uses a larger number of command/address lines for each link. Thislarger number of lines can be supported by relaxing the defaultrestriction that all bus links are point-to-point, i.e., by usingmulti-drop lines. In this case, outgoing command/address data istransmitted on a multi-drop link to two memory chips simultaneously.Preferably, the individual memory chips are physically arranged in closeproximity with one another and with hub 402. This fact, together withthe use of a lowered bus clock frequency, should generally make itpossible to reliably support a multi-drop configuration withoutmodification of the chip I/O driver/receiver hardware, notwithstandingthat memory chips 202 are intended for use with point-to-pointcommunication links.

Referring to FIG. 8, an outbound link 801 runs from hub 402 to memorychips 202A and 202B. Outbound link 801 comprises 13 point-to-point datalines for transmitting write data, of which 6 run to memory chip 202Aand 7 run to memory chip 202B. Outbound link 801 further comprises 15command/address lines for transmitting command/address data, which aremulti-drop and run to both chips 202A and 202B. In the alternative, inthe event that outbound link 801 is too long or for other reasons unableto support multi-drop, the 15 command/address lines could be duplicated,one set running to memory chip 202A and the other set to memory chip202B, so that two separate point-to-point links run to chips 202A and202B from hub 402. All lines of link 801 operate at a bus frequency of 2GT/s, i.e. at ⅓ bus frequency. Since command address data is transmittedon 15 lines, the same amount of data can be transmitted at the lowerfrequency.

Memory chips 202A and 202B in turn drive respective outbound multidroplinks 802, 803 to memory chips 202C and 202D (for link 802), and 202Eand 202F (for link 803). Outbound link 802 from memory chip 202Acomprises 5 data lines and 15 command/address lines. Outbound link 803from memory chip 202B comprises 6 data lines and 15 command/addresslines. All lines on links 802, 803 operate at a bus frequency of 2 GT/s.

Each of memory chips 202C, 202D, 202E and 202F in turn drives arespective outbound link to a respective pair of memory chips (or in thecase of chip 202D, to single memory chip 202I). For example, memory chip202C drives outbound link 804 to chips 202G, 202H, link 804 comprising15 multi-drop command/address lines (which go to both chips) and 2 writedata lines, one to each of chips 202G and 202H. All these lines operateat a bus frequency of 2 GT/s.

Each of memory chips 202A-202M drives a single respective inbound readdata line directly to hub 402, also at a bus frequency of 2 GT/s.

In operation, hub 402 accumulates the first three bus cycles of acommand/address (a total of 15 bits of command/address data), whichpreferably contains sufficient information to determine whether thecommand is addressed to the subject cluster. If so, the command issimultaneously re-transmitted to each of the three sub-clusters of thecluster to which the command is addressed on the 15 command/addresslines of link 801 for the sub-cluster at 2 GT/s. Since these 15command/address lines are multi-drop, the command/address data isreceived in both chip 202A and chip 202B. If the command is a writecommand, the hub will also receive write data on its 13 outbound datainput lines from the memory controller. This write data isre-transmitted in an interleaved fashion to the three sub-clusters, eachsub-cluster receiving write data at 2 GT/s on the 13-line data portionof link 801.

Memory chips 202A and 202B then re-transmit the command/address data on15-line command/address portions of links 802 and 803, respectively, tochips 202C, 202D, 202E and 202F. If the command is a write command, chip202A re-transmits the 5 bits of write data for memory chips 202C, 202D,202G, 202H and 202I on link 802 as well, while chip 202B similarlyre-transmits the 6 bits of write data for memory chips 202E, 202F, and202J-202M on link 803. Each of memory chips 202C, 202D, 202E and 202Fthen re-transmits the command/address and applicable write data to thecorresponding pair of chips (or single chip). I.e., Chip 202Cre-transmits data to chips 202G and 202H, and so on, as shown in FIG. 8.

If the command is a read command, each chip transmits the correspondingread data from the chip on its respective 1-bit line directly to hub 402at 2 GT/s. This data is stored in interleaved fashion, as in theconfigurations of FIGS. 6 and 7. The read data is buffered as necessaryby hub 402, and later re-transmitted to the memory controller on chain404.

Table 3 shows a representative set of pin assignments for theconfiguration of FIG. 8, compared with that of the base (daisy-chained)mode. All chips 202A-202M can use the same mode configuration of pinassignments, although some of the chips do not use all the pins listedin FIG. 8. E.g., chip 202G does not re-transmit command/address data orreceive write data for another chip, so pins R7:18, T1:5, T7:18 andT20:29 are unused. It will be observed that the pin assignment in theconfiguration of FIG. 8 is virtually identical to the base pinassignment of the daisy-chained mode, and cmd 6:15 are received andforwarded on the unused inbound read lines 2:11. Of course, it isnecessary for internal chip logic to recognize switching signals onlines R20:29 as command/address data (rather than inbound read data) forpurposes of decoding the command and address.

TABLE 3 Pin Assignments for Base and Third Alternate mode (FIG. 8) BaseOperating Mode Alt Mode (FIG. 8) R1:R5 Cmd 1:5 Cmd 1:5 R6 Outbound WrtData 1 Outbound Wrt Data 1 (chip) R7:R18 Outbound Wrt Data 2:13 OutboundWrt Data 2:13 R19:R31 Inbound Read Data 1 Not Used R20:29 Inbound ReadData 2:11 Cmd 6:15 R30:31 Inbound Read Data 12:13 Not Used T1:5 Cmd 1:5Cmd 1:5 T6 Outbound Wrt Data 1 Not Used T7:T18 Outbound Wrt Data 2:13Outbound Wrt Data 2:13 T19 Inbound Read Data 1 Inbound Read Data 1(Chip) T20:29 Inbound Read Data 2:11 Cmd 6:15 T30:31 Inbound Read Data12:13 Not Used

As explained previously, in each of the alternative configurations ofthe preferred embodiment, up to 78 bits of addressable data andauxiliary bits in each memory access is interleaved among threesub-clusters, each containing 13 chips, so that each chip contains 2bits of each memory access. In a standard daisy-chained configuration,all the data of a memory access (8 bytes plus any auxiliary bits) is ona single chip. For identical sized chips, it takes 5 more bits ofaddress to specify 2 bits (as in the preferred embodiment) than it doesto specify 8 bytes (as in the base operating mode). It may appear thatthis would require additional address lines. However, the base operatingmode also uses some address bits to specify which chip in a daisy-chainis addressed. These chip select address bits are not needed foraccessing chips in a cluster according to the preferred embodiment,because the hub decodes the full address received from the memorycontroller, and will forward a command to a particular cluster only ifthe command is intended for that cluster. It is assumed herein that thechip select address bits, which are not needed for specifying a chip ina cluster configuration, are sufficient to provide additional addressdata necessary to specify 2 bits of interleaved data within a chip (asopposed to 8 bytes within a chip).

Although the configurations of the preferred embodiment support up to 14auxiliary bits, it is not necessary to use all, or indeed any, of theauxiliary bit positions. If it is desired to save costs of additionalchips, it would alternatively be possible to leave some or all of theauxiliary bit positions unpopulated with corresponding chips.

While various uses can be made for the up to 14 auxiliary bits disclosedherein as a preferred embodiment, one particular application is thesupport of redundant memory chips, also known as chip kill. Redundancyis supported by designating one or more of the 39 chips in each clusteras a redundant spare chip. In the event that a chip malfunction isdetected in any chip of the cluster, the data assigned to themalfunctioning chip can be thereafter assigned to the spare chip. Ifnecessary, data previously written to the malfunctioning chip can bereconstructed using ECCs and re-written to the spare chip. Such aremapping of chip storage capability could be performed in memorycontroller 401 or in hub 402.

One possible memory architecture variation that is supportable by ahierarchical interleaved design as described herein is a significantlyhigher volume of data transferred by each command on the memorycontroller-hub bus links 405 and on the hub-chip bus links 502. In thevarious embodiments described above, each read or write commandtransfers 8 bytes of read or write data, plus auxiliary bits (up to 78total bits), and requires 6 bus cycles on memory controller-hub buslinks 405. This number of cycles for each data access is sometimesreferred to as a burst rate, and burst rates of 4 or 8 for aconventional daisy-chained configuration would be typical. The burstrate in a daisy-chained configuration is typically limited byerror-correcting codes (ECC), the desirability of supporting chip kill,and other factors. However, a hierarchical interleaved design asdescribed herein has inherent redundancy which would enable a higherburst rate. In fact, the amount of data transferred in a single dataaccess could be as high as the cache line size, e.g. 64 or 128 bytes.

Transferring a greater volume of data in each data access eliminates theneed to keep repeating the command, and therefore reduces the volume ofcommand/address data transmitted. This reduction would make it possibleto reduce the number of lines for command/address data and/or reduce thefrequency of these lines. In such a case, it may be preferable to useshared lines for command/address and write data, rather than dedicatedlines as described above.

For example, if 64 bytes of read or write data are to be transferredwith each data access, then the 13 data lines on bus links 405 asdescribed above will require 48 cycles to transfer the data. But sinceonly 30 bits of command/address need to be transmitted, a singlecommand/address line would be sufficient, since it would have 48 cyclesin which to transfer the 30 bits. (In fact, the number of bits could bereduced because three fewer address lines are required to specify a 64byte cache line, assuming it is aligned on a 64-byte boundary.) In thiscase, however, it is probably undesirable to use a single dedicated linefor command/address, because the receiving device must wait a largenumber of cycles before it knows the address of the accessed data. It ispreferable to share all the lines, so that the command/address data istransferred first using all lines, followed by the write data (ifapplicable). The fact remains that the total number of lines requiredcould be reduced, because the total volume of bus data required to betransferred for an equivalent amount data accessed is reduced.

The example can further by applied to the hub-chip bus links 502. If,for example, the configuration of FIG. 6 is used in a memoryarchitecture transferring 64 bytes of data per access, then link 601preferably contains multiple lines which are shared for command/addressand data, all of which can operate at 2 GT/s, i.e. ⅓ the clock frequencyof the memory bus-hub links 405. Command/address is transferred first,followed by data. Since 48 cycles on the memory bus-hub links 405 areneeded for each data access operation, link 601 operating at ⅓ frequencywill complete 16 cycles, and must transfer approximately 30 bits ofcommand/address and 208 bits of data and auxiliary bits. Only 15 linesare required on link 601.

Similarly each of links 602, 603 and 604 must transfer the sameapproximately 30 bits of command/address and 64 bits of data andauxiliary bits. Since 16 cycles are available, a minimum of 6 lines isneeded for each of links 602, 603, 604. However, it may be desirable touse a larger number (e.g. 9 or 10 lines), because by using 6 lines itwill take 5 cycles to transfer all the command/address, which wouldincrease latency. The number of lines should be limited to 10 to staywithin the total number of 31 available output ports on each chip. Asimilar analysis would be applied links 605, 606, 607.

Of course, in such a configuration the internal logic of the chips maybe further complicated by the need to support the different line usages,buffer command/address information, and so forth. When compared with thevarious configurations described earlier herein, the provision of alarger volume of data per memory access command as described above mayincrease latency if more cycles (or slower cycles) are required totransmit command/address data, but could reduce the number of linesrequired, enabling memory controllers and/or hubs to more easily supportlarger memory configurations, and could also reduce power consumption bylowering bus frequency of some lines.

In the various alternatives described above with respect to FIGS. 6-8,outbound command/address and write data is propagated down multiplelevels of a tree of memory chips. E.g., in the configuration of FIG. 6,outbound command/address and write data is first transmitted from thehub to chip 202A (at a first level), then to chips 202B, 202C and 202D(at a second level), then to the remaining chips at a third level. Eachsucceeding level introduces additional latency in propagating the memoryaccess command. It would be possible to configure the chips of a clusterin a different number of levels. For example, instead of dividing thecluster into three sub-clusters and driving separate command/addressdata simultaneously to all three sub-clusters, it would be possible toprovide all data to a single chip and re-propagate it to succeedinglevels of a single cluster. This approach may reduce the number of linesneeded in the hub, but at a cost of increasing the latency and powerconsumption.

In the various configurations described above with respect to FIGS. 6-8,it is assumed that write data is propagated successively down the treein the same manner as command/address data. However, since each bit ofwrite data has only a single destination, it may alternatively bepossible to provide direct links between the memory modules and hub forwrite data, and to propagate only the command/address down the tree.This variation may increase the complexity of internal logic andbuffering in either the hub or memory chips or both. It would notnecessarily reduce the number of output lines in the hub, but wouldreduce the number of I/O lines needed in the chips to re-propagate writedata down the tree, thus reducing power consumption and possiblyproviding additional configuration flexibility. It will be observed,however, that such a variation may be impractical where write data andcommand/address data are transmitted on the same shared lines.

Although FIGS. 6-8 show specific configurations embodying the generalprinciples of the present invention, it will be appreciated thatnumerous alternative configurations of memory chips could be used inaccordance with the present invention. By way of example and not by wayof limitation, in addition to any of the variations disclosed elsewhereherein, any of the following parameters might vary within the scope ofthe present invention: a cluster may or may not contain sub-clusters,and the number of sub-clusters may vary; the number of chips in acluster or sub-cluster may vary; the number of command/address or datalines may vary; the bus frequency and/or number of bus cycles per memoryaccess may vary; the number of data bits and/or command/address bits permemory access may vary; the number of levels in a tree of chips whichpropagates signals to the cluster may vary; the granularity of the datainterleave may vary; the number and function of ports in the memorychips may vary; etc.

In the preferred embodiments described herein, multiple hub re-drivechips connected in a daisy chain are used to access multiple clusters ofmemory chips. This configuration is employed to support a large numberof memory chips on each memory controller bus port. However, it wouldalternatively be possible to connect memory chip clusters orsub-clusters directly to the memory controller, without the use of hubre-drive chips. Such an alternative generally would support a smallernumber of memory chips than the configurations of the preferredembodiment.

In the preferred embodiment described herein, multiple-mode memory chipsare used in which, in at least one operating mode, the chips canfunction in a conventional daisy-chained configuration, and in at leastone other operating mode, the chips can function in a hierarchicalmemory configuration as described herein. However, it wouldalternatively be possible to use single-mode memory chips designedspecifically for such a hierarchical configuration, or to use memorychips which do not support the daisy-chained configuration as described.

Although a specific embodiment of the invention has been disclosed alongwith certain alternatives, it will be recognized by those skilled in theart that additional variations in form and detail may be made within thescope of the following claims:

1. A first memory module, comprising: a plurality of addressable storagelocations for storing data; a first interface for receiving memoryaccess commands for accessing said addressable storage locations; asecond interface for re-transmitting memory access commands received insaid first interface; control logic which supports a plurality of modesof operation, including a first mode and a second mode; wherein, in saidfirst mode of operation, a first portion of said first interfacereceives a first portion of each memory access command at a first busfrequency, and a second portion of said first interface receives asecond portion of each memory access command at a second bus frequency,said first bus frequency being different from said second bus frequency,and re-transmits at least a portion of said first portion of at leastsome said memory access commands at said first bus frequency using saidsecond interface, and re-transmits at least a portion of said secondportion of said at least some said memory access commands at said secondbus frequency using said second interface to a second memory module; andwherein, in said second mode of operation, said first interface receiveseach memory access command at a single bus frequency, and in responsethereto said control logic determines, with respect to each said memoryaccess command received by said first interface, whether the respectivememory access command addresses a data storage location in said firstmemory module, and (a) accesses a corresponding data storage location insaid first memory module if the respective memory access commandaddresses a data storage location in said first memory module, and (b)re-transmits the respective memory access command at said single busfrequency to a second memory module if the respective memory accesscommand does not address a data storage location in said first memorymodule.
 2. The first memory module of claim 1, wherein, in said secondmode of operation, said first memory module is for use in adaisy-chained configuration of memory modules, in which a first set ofI/O ports is for receiving outbound data from one of an access controlmodule controlling access to a daisy-chain of memory modules, said daisychain including said first memory module, and a previous memory modulein said daisy-chain of memory modules, a second set of I/O ports is forre-transmitting outbound data received in said first set of I/O ports toa next memory module in said daisy-chain of memory modules, a third setof I/O ports is for receiving inbound data from said next memory modulein said daisy-chain of memory modules, and a fourth set of I/O ports isfor re-transmitting inbound data received in said third set of I/O portsand for transmitting inbound data originating in said first memorymodule to one of said access control module and said previous memorymodule in said daisy chain of memory modules, said first set having thesame number of ports as said second set, said third set having the samenumber of ports as said fourth set.
 3. The first memory module of claim1, wherein, in said first mode of operation, each said memory accesscommand received by said first interface accesses addressable storagelocations in a set of memory modules, said set containing a plurality ofmemory modules, said set including said first memory module and saidsecond memory module.
 4. The first memory module of claim 1, whereinsaid first bus frequency is L times said second bus frequency, where Lis an integer.
 5. The first memory module of claim 4, wherein, in saidfirst mode of operation, said first portion of said first interfacereceives said first portion of each memory access command in each of Nsuccessive bus cycles, where N is greater than one; wherein, in saidsecond mode of operation, said second portion of said first interfacereceives said second portion of each said memory access command in eachof M successive bus cycles, where M is at least one; and wherein N=M×L.6. The first memory module of claim 1, wherein said first and second busfrequencies are derived by said first memory module from a commonexternal clock signal, said external clock signal being divided by aninteger N to obtain said first bus frequency and by an integer M toobtain said second bus frequency, where N is greater than or equal toone, and M is greater than N.
 7. The first memory module of claim 1,wherein said single bus frequency of said second mode of operation isequal to said first bus frequency of said first mode of operation, saidfirst bus frequency being greater than said second bus frequency.
 8. Thefirst memory module of claim 1, wherein in said first mode of operationsaid memory access commands comprise memory write commands, said firstportion including command/address data and said second portion includingdata to be written to storage locations in at least one memory moduleincluding said first memory module, said first bus frequency beinghigher than said second bus frequency.
 9. The first memory module ofclaim 8, wherein in said first mode of operation, at least one I/O portof said first memory module is used for transmitting data read fromstorage locations in said first memory module to an access controlmodule responsive to said data access commands, said at least one I/Oport transmitting data at said second bus frequency.
 10. The firstmemory module of claim 1, wherein said first interface is for couplingto a point-to-point communications link connecting said first memorymodule with a device from which said memory access communications arereceived; and. wherein said second interface is for coupling to apoint-to-point communications link connecting said first memory modulewith said second memory module.